hydrogen
What could a hydrogen-based energy economy look like? You’ll find a glimpse of its potential in a remote town in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Bella Coola, located about 400 kilometres north of Vancouver, has turned to Hydrogen Assisted Renewable Power (HARP) to store locally generated energy from
china
China might have overtaken the US’ lead as the world’s top carbon dioxide emitter fair and square, but it’s achieved its position as a leader in green technologies through a host of unfair and illegal trade practices, according to a complaint filed today by the United Steelworkers (USW)
water
Before Rita Colwell’s groundbreaking research in the 1960s, doctors and scientists believed the deadly disease cholera spread via water contaminated by human sewage. However, she discovered something other researchers until then had missed: that the Vibrio cholera bacterium could latch onto zooplankton — microscopic organisms — in water and survive, essentially
electricity
How “not smart” is today’s electricity grid? Consider the answer most of us still hear on the phone when reporting an outage: “Look outside and see if your neighbours’ lights are on.” State-of-the-art, self-healing, “Jetsons”-style power that’s not. Based as it is on technology that was basically
sustainable living
People are getting a lot of information lately about how to live sustainably. The problem is, it might be too much information. A recent online survey by IBM on YouGov found that 47 per cent of 2,000 British adults questioned found there was lots of information available about sustainable
solar energy
Nature’s been doing it for millions of years, but humans are still trying to unlock the secret: how to effectively and continuously harness the power of the sun’s energy. While photovoltaic devices have dramatically improved — and dropped in price — over recent years, no man-made solar cell yet comes
biodiversity
How should we react to news that the world’s fourth largest lake is rapidly dying before our eyes and that practically nothing is being done to stop it? Horror and outrage seem appropriate. However, the lead researcher tracking this particular slow-motion death says the response he’s gotten is
So a leaked German report warns that peak oil has arrived and we’ll start seeing serious side-effects within 15 to 30 years? Hang on … we’re starting to see side-effects now. Look no further than BP, undoubtedly 2010’s bête noire thanks to its record-breaking, months-long oil gusher in
peak oil
What will 2010 be remembered for? According to a leaked report from a German think tank, this could be the year that witnesses the arrival of peak oil: that is, a global maximum in petroleum production levels to be followed by a steady — or precipitous — decline. The report from the
cleantech
With cleantech and green technologies becoming ever more important at the global level, it’s no surprise that startups in those areas have taken a record number of spots in the latest list of Technology Pioneers announced by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Of the 31 new companies judged to
infrastructure
Rising petrol prices and increasingly difficult-to-extract oil might threaten the US’s car-dependent transportation system, but engineering executives see an even more pressing problem ahead: the need to develop and maintain the nation’s energy infrastructure. Building an infrastructure that can accommodate both traditional and renewable energy sources — and doing
low carbon
The restaurant chain Otarian hopes to entice customers into reducing their environmental impact with a carrot, rather than a stick. Its strategy? Encourage patrons to earn “Carbon Karma” credits rather than worry about the carbon footprint of their meals. Otarian, which recently opened its first “fast-casual” restaurant in London (and
